Written by Nicola L. Campbell (Interior Salish/Metis)Illustrated by Kim LaFavePublished by Groundwood, 2005Additional information 32 pages, color illusttrations; grade 1-4"One of the challenges of teaching children about Native history is finding age-appropriate ways to approach difficult subjects. While it is important to empower our children with information about the genocides and injutices that our people have survived, these lessons must be delivered in ways that are sensitive to their young minds. Shi-shi-etko is one of the finest examples of just such a lesson. In vivid, tender prose, Campbell conveys for children the impact of residential school policies for Indian communities in the United States and Canada

Unlike most books on the subject, Shi-shi-etko does not discuss the deprivation and humiliation that our children experienced in boarding schools.Instead, Campbell describes another side of this history - one that conveys the true significance of what was lost for generations of not just children, but their entire communities. "Can you imagine a community without children?" Campbell writes in a brief forward. "Can you imagine children without parents?"... "